Creative mornings with Domicile’s John Doran

Chris Read is the voice behind the Canadian Dad. He writes about being a father and features great Canadians, as well as children who are making a difference in the world. Chris is also the co-founder of the Gil Read Memorial Foundation, named in memory of his father, whose goal is to provide funding for children who can’t afford to compete in organized sport.

I recently had the opportunity to spend a morning at City Hall, to attend my first ‘Creative Mornings Ottawa’ event. I have been wanting to attend one of these for a while now but the timing always seemed to be off. I honestly had no idea what to expect going into it and it definitely exceeded my expectations by far.

The day started off on the right foot, as I wolfed down a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon and jalapeño from the fine folks at the Grilled Cheeserie.

It was as delicious as it sounds and even though I wouldn’t tell the organizers this, it was enough to make me want to come back again.

One of the highlights of the event came very early on when Ottawa Mayor, Jim Watson, took a shot at Toronto Mayor, Rob Ford, while referencing the fact that sometimes boring is okay.

As a blogger, I was unsure how much I would get out of a presentation from developer and Domicile President, John Doran, but one thing I’ve learned is that there is always an opportunity for growth.

Mr. Doran did not disappoint, as he was interesting, engaging and funny all at the same time. The thing I appreciated most about him is that he didn’t just share his success stories, but also went into some of the failures he had encountered along the way, which was extremely refreshing.

Too often we see these inspirational success stories that make us want to quit our jobs and follow our dreams, but they neglect to tell about all the speed bumps and hardships that go along with it. I also took away some important messages about branding that I will be able to implement into my blogging life, as well as some great ideas for future features, such as a photo walk through different Ottawa neighbourhoods.

Overall, Creative Mornings was extremely well put together and John Doran was an excellent choice as a speaker. I will definitely be back again and can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next.

I was especially happy to see that the Ottawa chapter of Creative Mornings launched a scholarship relating to the arts. That is such an important part of who we are as a city and I’m glad that they are doing something to help out.

Thanks for this review Chris! To view Rubicon Photography’s full photo album from the event, head to Creative Mornings’ Facebook Page.